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Visa boards the signature-free EMV bandwagon at last

Visa has now joined the other major card networks in eliminating the signature requirement for consumer purchases made in the U.S. with an EMV-enabled Visa-branded payment card.

The company announced this week in a press release that a customer signature will become optional as of April. The change applies to both contact and contactless card payments.

According to the release, Visa plans to pursue newer security technologies to replace the long-disparaged use of signatures for cardholder validation.

"Our focus is on continually evolving the market towards dynamic authentication methods such as EMV chip, as well as investing in emerging capabilities that leverage advanced analytics and biometrics," said Dan Sanford, vice president of consumer products. "We believe making the signature requirement optional for EMV chip-enabled merchants is the responsible next step to enhance security and convenience at the point of sale."

According to the release, within less than two years of the launch of EMV chip in the U.S., fraud declined 66 percent at EMV chip-enabled merchants.